Friday 17 May 2013

SPLA OFFICIAL CONTESTS WIFE’S REFUGEE STATUS IN UGANDA



A South Sudanese national whose wife and five children were allegedly granted refugee status in Uganda has asked the government to help him reunite with his family.
Mr Makaya Modi, an official of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army is challenging the manner in which his wife, Joyce Kade and their five children gained the status.
 “I brought my family to Uganda in 2001 to help my children benefit from quality education and they have been living in a permanent house in Kawempe- Ttula. She (Joyce) has been travelling to Juba to get her salary because she is a soldier. How then can she qualify for a refugee status in Uganda?  Mr Modi asked.
Mr Modi told journalists in Kampala on Thursday that he has never threatened violence or tortured his wife as she is alleging.
 “I have been paying school fees to my children until my wife; with influence from some people disappeared from our home making my children suffer. I want authorities to intervene and help me relocate my wife back home where we have to resolve the disagreement because our culture dictates that in case of any dispute, elders must intervene,” Mr Modi said.
This comes hardly a month after Mr Modi’s wife accused him of mistreating her and the children forcing them out of their home.
Mr Modi has since sued the government and the State Minister for Relief and Disaster Preparedness, Mr Musa Ecweru accusing the two parties of hiding his wife and five children.
He is also seeking a court order to cancel his wife’s refugee status arguing that the certificate that confirmed her as refugee in Uganda was fraudulently issued .
Earlier, Mr Ecweru said the government would investigate the alleged torture and illegal extradition of refugees to South Sudan.
“I am going to involve the government machinery to investigate these cases especially where local officers who are supposed to protect our people are simply watching,” he said while responding to complaints raised by Ms Kade.

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